The old man opened his mouth but then hesitated. “How close were you with the fighters of your group?” he asked.

Zeke frowned. From this alone, he could pretty much guess the identity of the second traitor. “Ishaan?”

The old man nodded with a grim expression.

“There was nobody to stop him?” Zeke asked.

The old man sighed. “It’s even worse than that,” he explained solemnly. “After he was done with the fighters, he snuck into the main building and attacked even more people.”

Zeke steeled himself. “Are they all dead?” he asked. Fortunately, he had bought Ashen Wolf before tragedy struck, but there were still Ripper and the others.

“No,” the old man said. Zeke’s relief was short-lived, however, as he immediately went on, “But it would almost be better if they were.”

Zeke’s face hardened at those words. His voice held a dangerous edge. “What do you mean by that?”

Palms raised placatingly, the old man said, “It’s not what you think, and I don’t say this because I look down on them, either.”

Zeke calmed down. “What happened to them?” he asked.

The old man averted his eyes. “Do you know what a Marrow-Shackle is?”

[Notice]

The Marrow-Shackle is a short-range projectile weapon developed by the dwarfs. The technology was designed to counteract Life Mages. It works by embedding tiny Voidiron splinters into the bone marrow of its target, interrupting the flow of Mana. The wounds caused by these weapons cannot be healed.